Augustine’s biography and many of his writings are available on the Internet for free. There are numerous books available also. This Bibliography compiles some helpful information.
Augnet.org, run by the modern Augustinian Order, has excellent material on Augustine’s life and times and on his works and influence. It also provides a gallery of pictures from the Roman ruins of Augustine’s city, Hippo Regius (now Annaba, Algeria), and the nearby contemporary Augustinian Basilica.
A new project, entitled The Works of Saint Augustine: A translation for the Twentieth First Century, aims to provide a multivolume set in English of all of Augustine’s works. It is mostly completed by now. Although books ordered from the publisher tend to be expensive, they are often available for less from other sellers, and many are also available in inexpensive versions for e-readers like Kindle.
While many translations of Confessions are available, the one from the above 21st Century series by Sister Maria Boulding, O. S. B., is very readable.
The City of God translated by William Babcock is also available in the new 21st Century series. It is available in 2 Volumes: Vol 1 with Books 1-10, and Vol. 2 with Books 11-22; the first is mainly about pagan Rome with its history, and the second is mainly about the origins and aspirations of the intertwined Cities of God and man. The second volume deals with more familiar material than the first and is likely easier to read. The Kindle versions are half the price of the paperbacks. The version of The City of God that I use is the single volume Penguin Classics Edition translated by Henry Bettenson. It is relatively inexpensive.
The Great Courses series by The Teaching Company also offers some excellent CD/DVD/streaming audio or video classes on Augustine (I have been through all of these and consider them very informative. Wait for one of their frequent sales to buy and get excellent prices, generally less than $40 for any of these courses:
- on his life and works (12 lectures),
- on The Confessions (24 lectures),
- on The City of God (24 lectures) by Professor Charles Mathewes (University of Virginia). This is a superb introduction to Augustine’s way of engaging with his times and to his ongoing relevance for the 21st Century.
In addition to the above and other commercial sources, the following sources from which David Hazard compiled his material are available for free online :
- Confessions: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1101.htm
- The City of God: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1201.htm
- On the Trinity: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1301.htm
- Homilies on 1 John: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1702.htm
- Expositions on the Psalms: https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1801.htm
- The extracts from “On Seeing God” come from Augustine’s Letter “147 To Paulina [The Book of the Vision of God].” Letters, Volume 3 (131-164) (The Fathers of the Church, Volume 20), by SISTER WILFRID PARSONS, Catholic University of America Press, Washington, D. C., 1953, pp. 170–238, download below:
The magazine Christian History had a special issue devoted to Augustine, Issue 15 in 1987. It is available in full online if you have a subscription to Christianity Today.
Henry Chadwick’s Augustine, A Very Short Introduction from Oxford University Press provides a short inexpensive introduction to Augustine’s life and thought.
The Second Edition of Peter Brown’s Augustine of Hippo: A Biography is full and comprehensive.
Contemporary spiritual writer James K. A. Smith’s book On the Road with Saint Augustine introduces you to Augustine’s ongoing contemporary relevance.
There are many other online or commercial resources for which you can do your own search.
Word and Fire 